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Not surprised you like that Charlie. Vintage Ortofon MCs tend to sound lovely. Nice find.

Mr. Tact!

Main system: MMs/ADCs/Low output MC's/One rare Japanese SUT/One scarce British phono stage/various tonearms/hefty Japanese DD TT and hefty Japanese BD TT and small British BD TT. 4 CD players/2 jitter buster/2 DACs/Valve buffer. TVC stepped attenuator or valve pre-amp or solid state pre-amp. Current dumping power-amp or either of two Class A SS power-amp or Class A EL34 valve monos or big Japanese (part Class A) integrated. Big dual concentric speakers/Smaller dual concentric speakers/Two way British compacts and full range speakers, amongst others. And too much more to list!

Rare and "spendy" Ortofon ESL C-100

The Ortofon/SME bayonet is normal for A shell stereo. The EMT diamond versions are rare.

It's certainly and ortofon C-99 and the ESL version was just badge engineering.

The gyro / jewel is an interesting one though. IT it an Ortofon or is it an ESL development?

I recently came across an Ortofon made ESL C-100 cartridge that is new old stock and was wondering if someone could shed a light on its sonic possibilities. The picture in the ad is the c-100 with the rounded profile the C-99 is angled. I assume it would be a very similar sound compared to the C-99 which I also have not heard except maybe some slight improvements? This website here has some brief info including a schematic ((http://www.hupse.eu/radio/reproducers/C100.htm)) as well as the specs at the bottom of the page. The price jumped $30 over the C-99 so perhaps it was just high demand. The science is beyond me so what I am asking for is for an experienced Ortofon fan to tell me about the C series mono carts and how having a pair in tandem working might sound. Its pricey hence the research. There is a fellow who has posted a few videos on youtube showing his turntable with the c-100 mounted but I find it hard to tell the "flavour" that way.
Many thanks and I look forward any descriptive language to help me understand what I might be in for with a high mass REK O Kut tonearm.

Sorry I've only just discovered your post. I have absolutely no experience of any of the ESL cartridge range, however if the compliance figures for the C99 match the effective mass of your Rek O Kut arm, then it could work OK.

Can you let have the figures? - I'll then be able to advise more fully.

The S15T has great potential. Some swear by the inbuilt SUT. I don't. If you take the body off and remove the tiny transformer, what you have left is basically an original sixties Ortofon SPU! And it sounds beautiful. A good repair would be worth every penny!

The removed SUT can of course be used with othe Ortofon MC's.

With old Ortofon MC's it is usually worth having the rubber cantilever suspension replaced at the same time as the stylus is repaired, as the rubber suspension ring ages and also start detaching from its mounting.

Mr. Tact!

Main system: MMs/ADCs/Low output MC's/One rare Japanese SUT/One scarce British phono stage/various tonearms/hefty Japanese DD TT and hefty Japanese BD TT and small British BD TT. 4 CD players/2 jitter buster/2 DACs/Valve buffer. TVC stepped attenuator or valve pre-amp or solid state pre-amp. Current dumping power-amp or either of two Class A SS power-amp or Class A EL34 valve monos or big Japanese (part Class A) integrated. Big dual concentric speakers/Smaller dual concentric speakers/Two way British compacts and full range speakers, amongst others. And too much more to list!

The S15T has great potential. Some swear by the inbuilt SUT. I don't. If you take the body off and remove the tiny transformer, what you have left is basically an original sixties Ortofon SPU! And it sounds beautiful. A good repair would be worth every penny!

The removed SUT can of course be used with othe Ortofon MC's.

With old Ortofon MC's it is usually worth having the rubber cantilever suspension replaced at the same time as the stylus is repaired, as the rubber suspension ring ages and also start detaching from its mounting.

Thank you Geoff
I have send off a couple of emails (to Ortofon and Calla) and await their responses.
It would be wonderful to get this cartridge going again.

Main system: MMs/ADCs/Low output MC's/One rare Japanese SUT/One scarce British phono stage/various tonearms/hefty Japanese DD TT and hefty Japanese BD TT and small British BD TT. 4 CD players/2 jitter buster/2 DACs/Valve buffer. TVC stepped attenuator or valve pre-amp or solid state pre-amp. Current dumping power-amp or either of two Class A SS power-amp or Class A EL34 valve monos or big Japanese (part Class A) integrated. Big dual concentric speakers/Smaller dual concentric speakers/Two way British compacts and full range speakers, amongst others. And too much more to list!

Hi Geoff
I am on to Van den Hull
Have never heard or used the SPU cartridges. They are big and heavy. Is that because they too have onboard SUT?

The early SPUs (the SPUGT, SPUGTE, SPUT and SPUTE; any with a 'T' in the model designation) did use an on-board SUT (having an enormously high turns ratio of 86:1) which made them heavy (around 33g if I recall). However the transformerless models (SPUG, SPUGE) were fitted with an additional weight to make them weigh the same as those fittted with an SUT, so as to preserve compatability with the operating environment.

Your S15T was one of a pair of successors to the SPU: the S15T (and S15TE) having an inbuilt SUT, with the SL15 (and SL15E) being the lightweight version that used an off-board in-line transformer module (designated the '2-15K'; as it trasformed the 2Ohm coil impedance of the cartridge to one of 15KOhm, suitable for the RIAA phonostage of the preamp). Apart from weight, the mechanical and electrical specification of the two were identical. Upon introduction they were both more expensive than the SPUs (stylus for stylus).

All the transformers used by Ortofon were made for them by the Danish company Joergen Scheu, and transformers made by them now command very high prices on internet auction sites. I do not think however it would be worthwhile in having the transformer removed from your S15T cartridge, as it would ruin the resale value. It would be better, when you have it retipped, to have the transformer disconnected and the output pins wired directly to the cartridge coils. That way you can use alternative SUTs or headamps, and should you later decide to sell the cartridge, the transformer could be put back into use.

About a year ago I bid for an Ortofon S15T cartridge; it sold for £600.